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Pepperdine | Community

Reminder of University Policies and Resources

Dear Pepperdine Faculty and Staff:

As members of the Pepperdine community, we are charged with maintaining the standards of the University. We are all responsible for practicing integrity, honesty, and fairness in our daily work. As a Christian university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, Pepperdine treats everyone with the respect and kindness that we have been called to show one another. The University community is a space where lives intersect and knowledge is discovered, which fortifies the strength found in our differences and uncovers the virtues revealed in diversity, unity, and restoration. To that end, Pepperdine is committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination and reserves its right to remain a Christian university by favoring co-religionists in its employment and admissions decisions.

I encourage you to review the information below. While we should all already be aware of these items, I hope this is a helpful reminder of various policies and resources available to you.

Code of Ethics
At Pepperdine, we are called to something greater and nobler than mere compliance with the law. The University Code of Ethics describes the values and ethical expectations of our community.

Communicating Suggestions and Concerns

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to communicate concerns about the community, report incidents or misconduct, and make suggestions for improvement through the following avenues: 

University Policies

University policies provide community expectations, as well as available resources regarding the important issues of harassment, discrimination, and workplace violence. Many University policies for faculty and staff are linked on the Human Resources website.

Please review the following policies by clicking the links below:

We encourage you to review the following policies, which have been revised during the past year:

Section 17: Leaves of Absence

  • Changes reflect expanded eligibility for leaves of absence to include caring for family members or a designated person as permitted by law. A designated person is any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
  • Changes reflect updates to bereavement leave, allowing employees the opportunity to take five unpaid days of leave due to the death of a person related to the employee by blood, adoption, marriage, or registered domestic partnership. Regularly assigned, fulltime staff employees working a minimum of 30 hours per week continue to be eligible for three paid days during this leave, and all employees may choose to use accrued vacation or sick leave, or floating holidays, to be paid during this time.

Title IX Coordinator

Title IX prohibits educational institutions from discriminating based on sex. The University's Title IX coordinator is responsible for implementation of Title IX compliance on campus. In addition to the reporting avenues described in the Unlawful Employment Discrimination and Harassment Policy, the Title IX coordinator is available to receive complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination, and violence (including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking).

The University Title IX Coordinator is La Shonda Coleman, Associate Vice President and University Title IX Coordinator. Please review additional Title IX information and resources here.

Reporting Abuse of Minors, Elders, and Dependent Adults

Informed by our Code of Ethics, every member of the Pepperdine community has the obligation to report any and all information regarding abuse of a minor, elder, or dependent adult. A failure to report such information constitutes a violation of University policy. If you are unsure whether you have a legal obligation to report suspected abuse or other crimes to law enforcement, or are unsure how to do so, the Department of Public Safety is prepared to assist you. While many of our policies specify offices or individuals to whom reports should be made, please remember that the following offices may receive information about suspected abuse or other crimes:

  • Department of Public Safety
  • Human Resources
  • Dean's Office for each school
  • Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs

Reporting Crimes

All members of the Pepperdine community should report all criminal and/or suspicious activity to Public Safety immediately. The Clery Act, however, requires that all Campus Security Authorities, who have significant responsibility for student and campus activities, report all crimes. Campus Security Authorities include, but are not limited to, Public Safety personnel, coaches, resident advisors, Greek life leaders, Student Affairs leadership, and deans. Please report Clery crimes to Public Safety, unless there is an alternate existing form that your role already utilizes for reporting crimes.

Updating Your Contact Information

To ensure you receive all communications from the University during an emergency situation, or otherwise, please ensure your contact information is always up to date in WaveNet. To update your contact information, log in to WaveNet, click “Employee Self Service” then “Personal Details.” Ensure your contact information, emergency contacts, and addresses remain accurate. Thank you for contributing to the integrity of the Pepperdine community and furthering the University's mission. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Kyle J. Stiemsma
Director, Human Resources